What to Expect: Mark Cuban’s courage is noble; his cigar blowing plane rides, late-night trophy showcasing endeavors, his championship urinal trips are imperial. His eccentricity is what sets him apart from other owners: you know who Mark Cuban is. His honesty – for good or bad – is refreshing. His confidence is unparalleled. The world was shocked when the Mavericks – behind a number of heroic playoff performances from a number of players – snatched the throne from the hands of King James.

But Mark Cuban – in the midst of his vibrant celebrations – was already planning his next move. He is a natural business, after all. He let free agents Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler – both major defensive components of the 2011 championship run – walk away for nothing. He signed a plethora of players to one year deals and began eyeing the 2013 summer. Continue Reading…

It was early in the season. Devin had quickly wowed the Atlanta crowd in his first game, scoring nine of the team’s first 15 points. He did, however, finish that game with just nine points.

That was the start of what was a rough couple of months for Devin. He couldn’t hit a shot, was clanking free throws left and right, and quite plainly looked like he just didn’t fit in the rotation. Then he got hurt, missed about a month, and it seemed quite clear: the Hawks could live without Devin Harris, and may have actually been better off with Marvin Williams.

The problem for Devin is that his role on the team was still unknown at that point. Between Jeff Teague, Anthony Morrow, Lou Williams, John Jenkins, DeShawn Stevenson, and Kyle Korver, minutes weren’t something that were always guaranteed. At some points, it felt like he’d be the one left out of the rotation.

However, injuries started to effect the rest of Atlanta’s guard rotation. Korver had back spasms, DeShawn started having problems with his knee, Morrow was falling out of the coaches’ favor, and of course, Lou tore an ACL. All of these factors led to an increase in Devin’s minutes and a more defined role: the team’s second ball-handler and primary guard defender. Continue Reading…

The Hawks have a lot of decisions to make this offseason. From choosing a new coach to attempting to lure Chris Paul or Dwight Howard, GM Danny Ferry has a lot of stuff on his desk to tackle.

However, what’s to become of the lesser free agents that are currently still on Atlanta’s roster? While many are focusing on the big names, the Hawks will still need a group of solid bench players to fill out next season’s roster.

So who should they keep?

It’s already well known that the team wants Kyle Korver, so I will skip over him. It’s also likely that the Hawks will let go of DeShawn Stevenson, as he showed severe signs of decline this year and has a non-guaranteed contract. Ivan Johnson can still be tendered with a qualifying offer. Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack will be on Atlanta’s Summer League squad, and figure to be in the mix as cheap sign-ees over the summer.

The players I am most interested in are Devin Harris, Anthony Tolliver, and Zaza Pachulia. Not only are these guys still productive, but they are also likely to attract attention from other teams.

Starting with Harris, I think he’s still got a lot left in him if he can stay relatively healthy. (i.e. 60+ games a season) Despite battling injuries this year, he was still able to put up 10 points and three assists a game on good enough shooting percentages. He’s also a plus-defender and was one of the most important players on the Hawks in terms of on/off efficiency. With this class of free agents and the importance of having a serviceable back up point guard, Devin is likely in the market for a decent chuck of cash, around $5 million per season. Continue Reading…

Summary of tonight’s game: Pacers got ahead, Hawks tried to make a comeback, and were often within striking distance. Then, something always happened to keep the Hawks out of it, whether it be a “foul” (looking at you, Malloy), or a defensive breakdown in transition. In the end, the Hawks couldn’t overcome Indy’s three-point shooting and timely baskets.

Reaction Grades:[assessed 0-10]

Al Horford: Larry Drew let Al play 38 minutes tonight, but it wasn’t exactly that much of a plus for the Hawks. Al missed a bunch of easy shots in the lane and really seemed to be forcing some of his shots. Of course, he never really seemed the same after he unfairly got a technical in the 2nd quarter. Horford’s ejection-worthy reaction was just a testament to how weak the tech call really was. 6/10

Josh Smith: Josh picked up two fouls in the first two minutes, and picked up his third soon after he got back into the game in the second quarter. When he was on the floor, though, he was playing well, as he made his jumpers, had some strong moves to the basket, and was playing aggressive defense. He seemed really inspired in the second half with his play, but he cannot be in that kind of foul trouble in order to be an asset to the team. 7.5/10

Kyle Korver: Kyle, Kyle, Kyle… you had so many opportunities to keep the Hawks in the game. He fared better on defense not having to guard Paul George, but he was set up too perfectly on several threes that could have been momentum builders to miss. 4/10

Jeff Teague: Zero points after halftime is not going to cut it, regardless of how good your first half was. Teague looked completely out of it in the second half, and was hardly getting into the lane like he was in the first. Part of this should be credited to an improved defensive effort by the Pacers, but a lot of it had to do with Jeff turning into the passive character that we have seen him become too often this season. 6/10

Devin Harris: Devin took some head-scratching shots, but he was the only ATL starter that appeared engaged for the entire game. He tried guarding Paul George, and was effective at times, but George’s physical skill set proved too much. Harris was also one of three Hawks to receive a technical foul on the night. 7.5/10Continue Reading…

Tonight’s game against the Raptors was changed to a national TV game when the game between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers was cancelled. This was an opportunity for the Hawks to change the image they have among fans as a boring team. Did they succeed? Nope, not even close. The team decided to rest Al Horford, play starters minimal minutes, and had a, forgive the cliche, lack of energy on the court. The Hawks played some of the worst defense I’ve ever seen with the Raptors scoring 68 points IN THE FIRST HALF.

Reaction Grades:[assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: Smith only played in the 1st half and sadly that didn’t really matter. When Smith was in the game his defensive impact was minimal and his offensive impact was pedestrian. Smith had 6 points, 1 FT, and a 3 pointer. 3/10

Kyle Korver: One of the lone bright spots for the Hawks tonight was from Kyle Korver. Korver went 5/7 from the field and drained three 3 pointers. His off ball movement was great as usual and he managed to avoid being streaky. However, on defense there was a point where Korver had to cover Rudy Gay and I’m pretty sure we were all worried for Korver’s well being. Defense, still not his strong suit. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see too much of him tonight, but when we did see him, he was playing well. 7/10

Johan Petro: You could easily argue that Petro was the second best player tonight out of the starters; this is not a reflection of how “well” he played. He was able to grab a few offensive boards and got a few easy buckets, but not much else from Johan. 5/10

Devin Harris: Harris was awful tonight. Harris didn’t help the team at all when he was on the court and in some ways he hurt it. Harris was slow on defense (are you beginning to notice a theme?) and probably just as slow on offense. Harris didn’t push the pace at all and sometimes made it even slower leading to possessions where they weren’t in there sets until way late in the shot clock. He didn’t even help with his shooting going 2/8 from the field. To cap it all off, he received a flagrant foul when he hip-checked John Lucas III. 2/10

Jeff Teague: Teague probably could have been better tonight. While he didn’t hurt the team too much he didn’t greatly help them either. He was able to pass his way to 9 assists but his shooting wasn’t too stellar going 2/5 from the field. The assists are nice but it would have been nice to see him try and change the game up a little.5/10Continue Reading…

Kyle Korver draws an extreme amount of attention, is extremely vocal, and opens up the floor so much for everyone else.

Josh Smith is one of the best defenders in the league.

But is the most important player on the Hawks… Devin Harris?

On the surface, Devin’s stats aren’t exactly eye-popping. As a combo-guard/backup point guard, he’s averaging 10 points and three assists a game on a 57.2 true-shooting percentage. (which is really good) As a defender, he’s not what he used to be, but he is still able to defend both guard positions rather effectively.

However, once you start digging deeper, you notice something; Devin Harris has the best on/off differential of any player on the Hawks at plus-9.5.

What does that mean? It means that having Devin Harris on the bench has the most negative impact of any player on the Hawks, in terms of offensive and defensive efficiency. (stats via Basketball-Reference)

To be honest, this really shouldn’t be shocking news to anyone who has watched the Hawks. He maintains a certain aggression on offense that rewards him with free throws, he’s an average three-point shooter, and he is great passer with a high basketball IQ.

Even with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters out due to tanking, whoops, I mean injuries, the Hawks still needed a fourth quarter effort to keep the Cavs at bay. Devin Harris had a great game, and Josh Smith almost had a triple-double, but the guys seemed to be overpassing at times, which led to a lot of sloppy play in the second and fourth quarters.

In hindsight, there were some fun things about this game. Luke Walton pulled a eurostep when no one was defending him and he tried to pick a fight with Ivan Johnson. Plus, Boobie Gibson was ejected in the 2nd quarter after having some words with DeShawn Stevenson and the officials. Otherwise, watching the Braves beat the Phillies was probably a much better option for your viewing pleasure.

Reaction Grades:[assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: He had a rather wild and uneventful first half with only three points. He picked it up in the second, though, scoring 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, grabbing eight boards, and dishing out two more assists. His 18-14-8 line represents the second time this season he’s fallen short of a triple-double by just two assists. He had the entire fourth quarter to get those two assists, but then he fell into the case of trying too hard to get them, leading to some awful turnovers. 8/10

Al Horford: Al got into foul trouble early, which is unfortunate, because the Hawks look completely out of rhythm when he’s not on the floor. He wound up fouling out of the game, which was the 2nd time he’s fouled out this season. He was still able to put up 16 and 6 in limited minutes, which extended his streak of double-digit scoring games to 32, the second longest streak of his career. 8/10

Jeff Teague: He let Livingston school him a little bit, but for the most part, he rebounded from his poor game against Orlando. He struggled with his shot in the paint, only going 1-for-6 around the basket. However, he did connect on four three pointers, and had only two turnovers against nine assists. 7/10

Devin Harris: Thank God for Devin Harris. He kept the Hawks on top in the first quarter with 11 points in that period alone. He was constantly attacking the basket, and got to the line eight times. His 25 total points were a season-high, and he added seven assists and three steals to round out a great overall game from Devin, possibly his best as a Hawk. 9/10

Kyle Korver: Larry Drew said before the game that the team isn’t looking for Kyle’s streak during the game, which I’m going to believe to a point; the system the Hawks run on offense means Kyle is going to get a lot of open looks, and of course, Korver is good enough to capitalize on those attempts early in the game. He had three threes in this game to extend the streak to 68 games, but the highlight of his night was when he absolutely swatted a Tristan Thompson jumper in the first quarter. Any night where Kyle gets an emphatic block is going to be a good one. 7/10

This was a HUGE game for the Hawks to take. They survived Monta Ellis’ three-point barrage in the fourth quarter to comeback and win in Milwaukee, giving the Hawks a 4.5 game cushion over the eighth-seeded Bucks. The key in this game was mismatches, as Ersan Ilyasova couldn’t handle Josh Smith, and there was no way Larry Sanders was going to be able to make up for the mistakes of the guys around him. And despite Monta’s three threes in the fourth, the Bucks only went 5-21 from three-point range, as the Hawks looked invigorated after that terrible defensive effort against the Trail Blazers on Friday night. The Hawks have now won the season series with Milwaukee and only have 12 games remaining on the season; Atlanta would have to lose at least five of their remaining games for the Bucks to even have a shot to catch up.

Reaction Grades:[assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: AJC reporter Chris Vivlamore asked Josh Smith about his career-high in seasonal three-point attempts on Saturday, and Josh responded in an even bigger way on Sunday… by taking five three pointers IN THE FIRST HALF! He didn’t take any in the second half, however, and Josh actually did a good job of attacking the basket when he saw he had a weak defender on him. His eight fourth quarter points were also very critical in surviving Monta’s consecutive threes. 8/10

Al Horford: Like Josh, Horford also helped out in closing the deal in the fourth quarter, as he had 10 points in the final period. This might have been one of his best all-around nights, as he also had zero turnovers to go with his six assists and he converted all of his foul shots. Well, now that I actually look at it, Josh had zero turnovers as well… HOW WAS THAT POSSIBLE??? 9.5/10

Kyle Korver: His three-pointer streak of 63 games is now the fifth longest in NBA history. He had a trio of triples in this game, and made of couple of key passes and hustle plays on defense. Pretty much par for the course: nothing really flashy, but a lot of key plays made in small areas to help propel the team to victory. 6.5/10

Devin Harris: Guess who’s hurt? Hurt again? Devin’s hurt… tell a friend. Devin did hurt his foot again in this one (an issue that Larry Drew said shouldn’t be too serious), but before that, we was tearing it up in his home state once again. In just 29 minutes of action, he had 16 points, including four triples. Hopefully, this injury doesn’t linger, because the Hawks can’t exactly make up for injuries any more. 7/10

Jeff Teague: Are the Hawks not allowed to have both of their point guards excelling at the same time? Jeff struggled mightily in the first three quarters, but as soon as Devin went out in the fourth, it was a completely different ball game. After starting out 3-for-9 with five turnovers, Jeff didn’t turn the ball over all in the final 12 minutes, and added six points and three assists. While I’m glad we finally got to see aggressive Teague… it would be nice if he could play that way more when Devin is also on the floor and attacking. 6.5/10

If you look at the box score of this game, the first thing that stands out is how many players had seven or more rebounds– there were seven (three of which who had 14 or over), and one who had six in 11 minutes of play. The reason, mainly, is that there were a lot of missed shots, especially by Milwaukee. The interesting thing about this game, however, was that, defensively, it was the complete opposite of Monday night’s effort against Dallas, where the Hawks seemingly hit a wall and allowed a barrage of perimeter scoring. Wednesday night was different: Milwaukee shot 37% from the field as opposed to Dallas’s 60+%, they shot 42% from beyond the arc as opposed to 59%, and they were out-rebounded by the Hawks 47-46 as opposed to out-rebounding them by 13. In short, the Hawks took note of their recent shortcomings, and made a concerted, whether conscious or not, effort to turn them around.

Reaction Grades:[assessed 0-10]

Josh Smith: The field goal percentage was ugly. It’s always ugly. Whatever, I’m going to move past that. You could probably guess the kind of shots he took without even watching the game, anyway. And, just like almost every game, I start out with some negative comment on shot selection or something or another, but then I move on to say that he did his part in other areas. And boy did he on Wednesday. He hauled in 16 rebounds over Milwaukee’s super-lengthy front court and also dished out six assists. But because this is Josh Smith, something had to offset those positive markings, so just to troll everyone, he also had six turnovers. 5/10

Al Horford: There’s so much to be said about how well Horford understands the spacing in the Hawks’ offense. He flashes to the right spots every time Teague penetrates the lane, whether that be to the top of the key or out to the wing, and it really opens things up when he’s connecting on his jumper. He was doing so tonight, and was once again a man amongst boys. He scored 26 points on 11-20 shooting and hauled in 14 rebounds. 10/10

Kyle Korver: He was 3-6 from beyond the arc and kept the streak of games with a made three-pointer alive. He’s only 25 or so games away from breaking the record. His streak is clearly more impressive than the other streak that continued Wednesday night (pshhhh 24 wins is supposed to be good or something?). Anyways, Korver wasn’t exactly a defensive stopper as he struggled to stay with both Redick and Dunleavy most of the night. 4/10

Devin Harris: He was the first quarter offense, scoring 10 points early to keep the Bucks from building any sort of lead when the Hawks just seemed out of sorts offensively. He was the only one attacking the lane and getting to the line at the start of the game, and he also had an awesome fake pass that opened up him for a made three-pointer. He finished the night with 15 points and was active on defense, even if he was beaten off the dribble a few times. 6/10

Jeff Teague: That’s another 20-10 game for Teague, who now has eight of those by my unofficial count, and 12 double-doubles on the season. He also has six games where he’s been either one or two assists away from having a 20-10 game. So, in essence, he finds himself with this sort of stat line a lot, which is clearly good for the Hawks. He was a lightning rod Wednesday night, getting into the lane with ease and finishing on some floaters and runners. He was one point away from his career high and tallied 11 assists to go along with those 27 points. 10/10